Iraq Invasion 2003 - Aussies US-Anglo Capitalist Puppets

US-ANGLO CAPITALIST AUSSIE PUPPETS IRAQ INVASION 2003 CHILCOT REPORT WAR CRIMINALS https://youtu.be/HP55OMZbM6Y Press TV (Mahi Ramakrishnan) - LINK | Source "The judges in the verdict said that that the United States, under the leadership of Bush, forged documents to claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction." "“Bush and Blair are found guilty under the same law that applied to the Nazis after the end of the World War II. So, they are international (war) criminals guilty of Nuremberg crimes against peace; and they should be prosecuted by any state in the world that gets a hold of them." Press TV (Mahi Ramakrishnan) LINK | Source COMMENT US Capitalist Empire has taken steps IN ADVANCE to ensure that no country dare prosecute the AMERICAN-ANGLO CAPITALIST WAR CRIMINALS (or their associates), as US Capitalist Empire has given itself permission to wage war against those that seek to bring US CAPITALIST WAR CRIMINALS to justice. Hague Invasion Act Human Rights Watch | 2002  http://archive.is/OXr7k "A new law supposedly protecting U.S. servicemembers from the International Criminal Court shows that the Bush administration will stop at nothing in its campaign against the court. U.S. President George Bush today signed into law the American Servicemembers Protection Act of 2002, which is intended to intimidate countries that ratify the treaty for the International Criminal Court (ICC). The new law authorizes the use of military force to liberate any American or citizen of a U.S.-allied country being held by the court, which is located in The Hague. This provision, dubbed the "Hague invasion clause," has caused a strong reaction from U.S. allies around the world, particularly in the Netherlands.  In addition, the law provides for the withdrawal of U.S. military assistance from countries ratifying the ICC treaty, and restricts U.S. participation in United Nations peacekeeping unless the United States obtains immunity from prosecution. At the same time, these provisions can be waived by the president on "national interest" grounds.  ... The law is part of a multi-pronged U.S. effort against the International Criminal Court. On May 6, in an unprecedented move, the Bush administration announced it was "renouncing" U.S. signature on the treaty. " Human Rights Watch | 2002  http://archive.is/OXr7k Press TV Thu Jul 7, 2016 6:2AM A former Australian army chief has warned Canberra against “blindly” following the United States in the American military adventures, a day after a long-awaited inquiry into Britain’s role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq blamed the UK for rushing to war. “We... need to be careful of blindly going along with our senior strategic partners,” Peter Leahy, who was the chief of the Australian army from 2002 to 2008, said in an apparent reference to the US. “I think as we look at other issues that are afoot at the moment, there are some thoughts to be given there — what decisions are we making?” he said, speaking on Thursday. The former army chief, who is now a professor at Canberra University’s National Security Institute, added that “Frankly, some of the decisions the United States, our senior partner in our strategic alliance, have [sic] made over the last 20 or 30 years have been a bit crook.” The Chilcot Inquiry, established in 2009 to investigate Britain’s most controversial military engagement since the end of the Second World War, published its 6,000-page report in 12 volumes on Wednesday, slamming former British Prime Minister Tony Blair over support for former US President George W. Bush in the 2003 Iraq war. At the time, Blair presented the case for war with “a certainty which was not justified” based on “flawed” intelligence about Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which was not challenged as it should have been, the report concluded. Blair’s government sent 120,000 members of the British armed forces and civilians to Iraq, proving its role as Bush’s chief military ally.  A total of 179 British personnel were killed in the war. In 2003, Australia also sent 2,000 troops to support the US and British forces in the invasion of Iraq, whose legal basis, according to the Chilcot Inquiry, was “far from satisfactory.” According to Leahy, a review of the Australian involvement in the Iraq war released in 2004 also showed that Canberra relied on flawed advice in joining its senior allies. “Let’s have a discussion, not an inquiry, around our relationship with the United States, how we decide to go to war and very importantly how we decide every day when we are at war to stay at war,” Leahy said. Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who at the time of the Iraq invasion was part of then-Prime Minister John Howard’s conservative government, defended the decision made by the government to send troops to Iraq, saying it was “based on… the best information that we had at the time.” “The government takes responsibility for all decisions that a government makes and we take responsibility for this one,” she further said, describing the decision as “a bipartisan position up to a point.” Blair himself has defended the British decision to follow in the US’s footsteps into Iraq following the publication of the Chilcot report. According to the Australian constitution, the government does not require a permission from the country’s parliament to declare war. http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/07/07/473989/Australia-Peter-Leahy-Iraq-War-US-Chilcot-Inquiry 2011 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia War Crimes Tribunal BUSH & BLAIR WAR CRIMINALS tribunal found former US President George W Bush former British PM Tony Blair GUILTY of crimes against humanity LINK | here WikiLeaks | Assange [RIGHT-CLICK IMAGE & 'NEW TAB'] WikiLeaks | Assange FCO & MI6 BRITISH INTELLIGENCE Source | @WikiLeaks FREE ASSANGE SAVE JULIAN ASSANGE Saddam Hussein Iraq government described as: "AN OBSTACLE TO EVERY SINGLE WESTERN OBJECTIVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST" "OUR GOAL IS REGIME CHANGE" "WE HAVE HAD SUCH GOALS BEFORE. WE SUCCEEDED IN THE SOVIET UNION, IN APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA AND IN BELGRADE." "I ASSUME [REGIME CHANGE] REMAINS OUR GOAL IN PLACES LIKE BURMA, IRAN, LIBYA, ZIMBABWE AND LIBERIA." "LAWYERS AND PEACENIKS SHOULD NOT PREVENT US FROM SAYING WHAT WE REALLY WANT IN IRAQ" "IF WE WERE TO BUILD UP THE KURDS AND THE SHIA AS PROXIES, WHAT ASSURANCES WOULD WE HAVE TO GIVE THEM THAT WE WOULD NOT LET THEM DOWN YET AGAIN?" "ALL OF THESE ARE MUCH MORE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS THAN LEGALITY ..." "WE CAN LOOK FOR A LEGAL BASIS ONCE WE HAVE DECIDED WHAT TO DO, AS WE DID IN KOSOVO." "WE KNOW BUSH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WILL BE BOTH INTELLIGENT AND RESPONSIBLE IF WE CAN HELP THE AMERICANS COME UP WITH A PERSUASIVE PLAN TO OUST THE WORLDS WORST TYRANT, THEN WE SHOULD DO SO. AND IF THE BEST MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE ORGANS OF LONDON AND WASHINGTON FAIL TO PRODUCE A CONVINCING PLAN, THEN WE STICK TO CONTAINMENT." SIGNED: JOHN SAWERS SENT BY CAIRO ON 21-02-2002 09:52 RECEIVED BY NO 10 ON 21-02-2002 22:07 http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/media/210163/2002-02-21-teleletter-sawers-to-jay-iraq-policy.pdf John Sawers descendant of Norman invaders (12th C.) former British Diplomat former British Senior Civil Servant Foreign & Commonwealth Office 1997 MI6 agent in Yemen & Syria Political Officer, Damascus 1982 FCO Desk Officer, European Union Dept. 1984 Private Sec. to Minister of State 1986 FCO, Pretoria, Cape Town, South Africa 1988-1991 Head of European Union Presidency Planning Unit 1991 Principal Private Secretary to Douglas Hurd 1993:     - Bosnia War     - Middle East war     - European Union debate International Fellow at Harvard University, USA, 1995-1998 British Embassy, Washington DC, headed Foreign & Defence Policy Team Foreign Affairs Adviser to PM Tony Blair 1999-2001     - Kosovo War     - Northern Ireland peace process     - Iraq sanctions policy Ambassador to Egypt 2001 - 2003 British Special Representatives to Baghdad (3 mths) FCO, Director Gen. for Political Affairs 2003 wide scope, negotiations with:   G8, EU and the UN closely involved re policy on: Iran Iraq Afghanistan Balkans British Permanent Representative to the United Nations 2007-2009 former Chief of MI6, Secret Intelligence Service 2009-2014 governor of the Ditchley Foundation, Anglo-US capitalist relations promo Ditchley Foundation est. 1958 by Sir David Wills, descendant of the tobacco importing family, W. D. & H. O. Wills (Bristol) W.D. & H.O. Wills, est. 1786 one of founding companies of:   Imperial Tobacco on merger of W.D. & H.O. Wills & x7 other tobacco companies key:  William Wills, 1st Baron Winterstoke businessman, Liberal politician JOHN SAWERS, MI6 WikiLeaks | Assange Chilcot Report Rigging Plan Source | @WikiLeaks COMMENT Julie Bishop defending the decision to enter into ILLEGAL WAR ON IRAQ, on a CONCOCTED basis, for the enrichment of US-ANGLO CAPITALISTS who destroyed and robbed the country, is appalling. But what else can the government do?  It's not like they're going to admit to being war criminals and admit liability, are they?  LOL It also sounds like Australia might want to address the issue of the constitution that permits a declaration of war without parliamentary backing. SAVE JULIAN ASSANGE WikiLeaks | Assange @WikiLeaks AUSSIE SUPPORTER DICK SMITH | AUDIO Dick Smith Takes On Sweden & US Empire LINK | here

US - AUSTRALIAN MILITARY CO-OP - DONE DEAL ACCORD

US, Australia sign military cooperation accord By AFP | AP Published about 2 hours ago SYDNEY: The US and Australia signed an agreement on Tuesday that will allow the two countries’ militaries to train and work better together as US Marines and airmen deploy in and out of the country. “This long-term agreement will broaden and deepen our alliance’s contributions to regional security,” US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday. He described the US-Australia alliance as the “bedrock” for stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Hagel spoke during a press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry and their Australian counterparts, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister David Johnston, at the conclusion of annual Australia-US strategic talks. Kerry praised Australia as “a vital partner in so many different endeavors. [That's what he says to all the 'girls'.] “When President Barack Obama visited Australia in 2011, he fuelled tensions with China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, by announcing that up to 2,500 US Marines would rotate through a joint military training hub in the northern Australian city of Darwin. The Marines conduct humanitarian and military exercises with Australian forces. Since 2011, the number of Marines there has grown from about 250 to more than 1,100 now. Australian Defence Minister David Johnston said the northern territory looks forward to the Marine presence growing to the 2,500 limit. Adm Sam Locklear, who heads US Pacific Command, told reporters on Monday that there is no timeline for the increase to 2,500. The 2,500, said Locklear, is the size of a Marine air/ground task force unit, which “gives us the best flexibility to partner with” Australia and other allies in the region. One US official said it will take several years to reach the full 2,500-troop level. US REASSURES CHINA: The United States stressed on Tuesday it welcomes the rise of China and wants to work constructively with Beijing as it signed a deal to deploy 2,500 Marines to Australia as part of its “rebalance” to Asia. China bristled when the agreement to deploy Marines to the northern city of Darwin was first announced by President Barack Obama in 2011. [...] “Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop earlier defended the deal to bring US Marines and Air Force personnel to the Northern Territory, denying it was aimed at China which is embroiled in maritime disputes with neighbours. “That’s not what it is directed to do at all. It’s about working closely with the United States to ensure that we can work on regional peace and security,” she told a radio programme. “The United States is rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific so it’s ways we can work together to support economic development as well as security and peace. “After the talks Bishop, who also hosted US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, said the discussions were broad — ranging from tensions on the Korean peninsula to the crisis in Ukraine and to conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Gaza and Afghanistan. http://www.dawn.com/news/1124996/us-australia-sign-military-cooperation-accord

This is about the US moving to line up control in the Asia Pacific region.

Australia hasn't exactly got a choice, so any defence deal is a done deal.

Why bother with a 2,500 limit? 

'Work on regional peace and security' means having the capability of challenging somebody in the region with a big stick, otherwise why would anybody give a stuff what Bishop and Hagel have to say on the region.

So this isn't all about hand-holding, partnership and peace promotion.

AUSTRALIA ON - MH17 UN COUNCIL RESOLUTION

Tony Abbott hails UN backing for MH17 resolution     July 22, 2014 - 9:23AM The Abbott government's push for a full independent investigation into the downing of MH17 over Ukraine has been backed by a unanimous vote UN Security Council, increasing pressure on Russia to facilitate access to the crash site. In a joint statement with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop released on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Tony Abbott hailed the result saying that the resolution lent the Security Council's ''full weight'' in condemning the attack. ... Earlier, Ms Bishop, who is at the UN headquarters in New York, said it was ''despicable'' that investigators were not getting access to the crash site. ''Grief is now accompanied by outrage as we witness grotesque violations at the crash site,'' Ms Bishop said. ''This demands a response.'' She also told the Council that its message to those responsible for the MH17 deaths was ''definitive''. ''You will be held to account for your actions. They were all innocent people.'' [Steady on ... Resolution's toothless] Mr Abbott will chair a cabinet and national security committee meetings in Canberra again on Tuesday. He will later sign a condolence book at Parliament House, together with representatives of the diplomatic community. [Get that PR mileage, Abbott] Overnight, Mr Abbott's envoy to Ukraine to respond to the disaster, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Labor leader Bill Shorten is also in the United States for meetings. He said he was very pleased that the Security Council had passed the resolution. ''It is now time for the leader of the Russian Federation, Mr Putin, to now show the rest of the world that he'll now act on this resolution,'' Mr Shorten told Sky News. ''I think this has dragged on for too long.'' Source - SMH - here.

Yeah, Abbott, but the Council's 'full weight' is really NO WEIGHT when the UN Council's resolution is unenforceable.

A bunch of politicians looking to gain PR and political advantage by taking advantage of victims.  

That's what you call despicable.

Australian politicians & law enforcement - Make headway towards controlling social media

Financial Review Twitter move to Australia "imminent": Julie Bishop PUBLISHED: 11 Jan 2013 11:35:00 | UPDATED: 15 Jan 2013 08:45:28 Negar Salek, James Hutchinson and AAP Social networking giant Twitter is being tipped to open its first Australian corporate office “imminently” as part of plans to help combat cyber bullying and deepen ties with the federal and state governments. Federal politicians have for months been lobbying the company to launch a full-time presence in Australia and make it easier for police officers to engage with the company. Speaking after a visit to Twitter’s US headquarters on Friday, deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop said she understood the move was “imminent”.  [Now Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party government - here.] “That’s what they told us today - they’d be opening an office in Sydney,” she said. “Facebook has a presence in Australia and it’s clear Twitter is about to establish one.” Ms Bishop said it was “essential” for social networking companies to deepen ties with Australian governments and authorities. Earlier, Ms Bishop tweeted that she was at Twitter headquarters in in San Francisco as part of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue.”There are 400 million tweets/day with most tweets posted in Jakarta!”. [AALD - NGO-charity] Twitter did not immediately confirm the move. Cooperation Twitter has seven international offices with the latest being in Paris. A new Australian corporate presence is likely to have a strong commercial motive, with Australians keenly embracing Twitter over the past six years and currently sending about 1.4 million tweets per day. But it is also likely to ease cooperation on issues such as cyber bullying and online abuse as well as enhancing relationships with all levels of government. It comes after a series of high-profile cases of cyber bullying, including rugby league star Robbie Farah being abused by a troll on Twitter. [SMH - September 10, 2012 - here.] Communications Minister Stephen Conroy branded the company “arrogant” in September after he unsuccessfully tried to contact the company to discuss the Farah case and ways to combat cyber bullying. “They just believe they don’t have to take any notice of the Australian public, any notice of the Australian laws, and they think they can behave this arrogantly,” he told Nine Network last year. Facebook, too, has come under pressure to extend its relationship with Australian authorities. Victoria police chief Ken Lay this week met with a Facebook executive to discuss his concerns about hate pages, and Facebook’s threat to high profile prosecutions. A spokesman for Senator Conroy told AAP on Friday that he would welcome a permanent Twitter presence in Australia. [Conroy - Labor Party - here.] But Prime Minister Julia Gillard said an Australian office may not speed up negotiations over taking down offensive material. [Former PM] “It hasn’t been so much a question of location of the organisation, as opposed to the will to address the issue,” she told reporters in Sydney on Friday. “We will be urging the bodies that have some control over content to have policies, not to stop people from having a genuine conversation or anything like that, but some of the extremes that have caused real harm to try and deal with that conduct.” Twitter has had no full-time offices in Australia since launching in 2006 despite launching an official Twitter handle, @TwitterAU, last October. Senior Twitter executives visited Australia in late 2012 as part of a scoping study. SOURCE - Financial Review - here.

Replace keyboards with handcuffs: Police Minister NSW Police Minister Michael Gallacher said at a press conference in Sydney this morning that Twitter trolls should have their keyboards replaced with handcuffs. "Honestly, these clowns who hide behind their keyboards in their mothers' basements thinking that they can send offensive messages ... we've got to empower police with the ability to replace their keyboards with handcuffs, grab them by the ears from mummy's basement and take them down to the local police station and make them understand the offensive matters that they continue to raise on the internet [bear] a terrible price." Mr Gallacher said NSW Police did have some powers to take action against online abusers, but there needed to be some support from the federal government in making the legislation tougher. Source - SMH - September 10, 2012 - here.

--------------------------------------
COMMENT

So if I have this straight, there are some people in the community who are offended by tweets (or content of facebook pages) and the Australian politicians and law enforcement were (and presumably still are) lobbying to find means to curtail freedom of expression on these internet mediums.

Of course, it's all in the name of defending from cyber 'bullying'.

Politicians on both sides of the fence are, of course, happy to do what they can to bring about controls.

Julie Bishop's remark is disturbing:

Ms Bishop said it was “essential” for social networking companies to deepen ties with Australian governments and authorities.

On the contrary, I believe it's essential for social networking companies -- and the internet -- to be independent of interference from the government and all its branches.

As for 'hate' sites, one man's hate site is another man's truth.  Who is to determine what is, or is not, acceptable content?  Once that door is ajar, it's wide open to government censorship of content.  So good luck preserving freedom of expression and freedom of information.

Now the nanny state wants to step in and guard against online social media users being 'offended' by remarks, and this is all in aid of defending the thin skinned from cyber bullying and 'hate'?

No way.

Ultimately, this is about politicians and government seeking control of a communication medium and control of freedom of expression and freedom of information.

Twitter didn't take long to come around to the politicians' lobbying. 

Nine months later Twitter Australia headquarters was born:

Twitter opens local headquarters     The Australian     September 02, 2013 12:00AM TWITTER has appointed a country manager for Australia and will officially open its local headquarters in Sydney this week, as the US social media giant pushes to build its advertising business in more markets ahead of a rumoured public offering. Recently, Twitter started offering its so-called "promoted products" in Australia, with businesses paying to have promoted tweets pushed into users' timelines, promoted accounts included in "who to follow" recommendations and "promoted trends" appearing on the popular topics list. Twitter won't divulge how many Australian advertisers it has signed, although it said National Australia Bank and Qantas were among the brands that have used the platform for marketing. ... However, the platform has at times proved problematic for brands. Qantas saw one promotional campaign became a PR fail when users hijacked its hashtag "#QantasLuxury" to make fun at the airline's expense. "You always have episodes of bad behaviour, especially on open platforms," Mr Rao said. "(One benefit) from having people on the ground ... is our teams can actively work with organisations in Australia to understand best practices so we can manage accounts on the platform in the best way possible." ...extracts only...full @... SOURCE - The Australian - here.

The Australian's article is all about the business/advertising side of things, save for revealing that the #QantasLuxury hashtag wound up being the butt of Twitter jokes. 

Was Qantas offended?  Was this a form of online bullying?  Was it a form of cyber hate?  And did the NSW police minister ensure all those responsible were held accountable?  Did all those Twitter basement-dwellers bear a terrible price?  And has the police minister replaced their keyboards with handcuffs? 

MH17 - Bishop's on Abbott's US mission | Shorten's swinging by | Joe Biden's hovering

JULIE BISHOP AND TONY ABBOTT

Yahoo News July 20, 2014, 1:43 pm Julie Bishop heads to US Australia is taking a lead role in pushing for an international investigation in the crash, with Ms Bishop on her way to the US. Ms Bishop is expected to touch down in Washington for meetings before launching a lobbying offensive at the United Nations in New York. "[Ms Bishop] is there to lead our work at the UN. She's there to give focus to our work at the UN and so that the world knows just how seriously Australia is taking this and there are 36 people who call Australia home who have been snuffed out," Mr Abbott said. Australia wants tougher action from the Security Council, believing a press statement calling for an independent international investigation is not enough. It wants a binding resolution from members and is drafting the text to put to the Security Council for a vote. It would need Russia's support. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will also travel to the US this week for high-level talks on a range of issues, including the Malaysia Airlines tragedy. Mr Shorten is attending the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue, and will meet US vice-president Joe Biden and deputy state secretary William Burns. While he is there, Mr Shorten will be briefed by Australia's representatives at the UN about efforts to secure an investigation into the MH17 crash. ...extract...full @... SOURCE - Yahoo News - here.

Australian-American Leadership Dialogue (AALD) AALD is a not-for-profit NGO, founded as a 'private diplomatic initiative',  drawing together Australian and US achievers from government, the community and the corporate sector, in pursuit of promoting closer Australian-US understanding and ties. Official site AALD - here

--------------------------------------
COMMENT

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's headed to the US on Abbott's mission:   gaining top mileage for US-Australian political advantage.

Bill Shorten, Labor opposition leader, is also headed over for talks; which is strange to a new political watcher.

One would think the opposition would take information directly from the government of the day, rather than have independent discussions.

Shifty Joe Biden is waiting and hovering, and there's even an Aussie-US hybrid NGO in the package.

Shorten's attending AALD, which was formed by Phil Scanlan and his US wife, Julie Singer Scanlan, back in 1992; with the support of Republican President George H W Bush.  

GHW Bush came after Reagan; Clinton followed this Bush and GHW Bush's son, George W Bush, followed Clinton. 

AALD's Scanlan, described as an exceptional networker on his NGO's site, is a former managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil and has now joined the 'strategic advisory board' of Bridge Growth Partners, a New York private equity fund, specialising in technology and financial services.  

Scanlan also happens to be a former Australian Consul-General in New York, before the short-lived Gillard government appointment of Steve Bracks in the role.

Steve Bracks was soon dismissed by Tony Abbott's newly elected Liberal government, in favour of appointing 'Liberal powerbroker Nick Minchin' in Abbott's stead.

Here's some Michin background and what Bill Shorten had to say about on matter of Minchin's appointment:

Mr Minchin ... held several posts in the [Liberal] Howard government, including finance minister. He was instrumental in the then Coalition opposition changing its stance on supporting an emissions trading scheme proposed by the then Rudd government." Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the appointment of Mr Minchin showed the Coalition government’s jobs priorities were wrong. ''The Abbott government will fight for Liberal politicians - they just won’t fight for ordinary people,'' he told reporters in Perth. The government had ''ripped up the rule book'' with the appointment of Mr Minchin. SOURCE - SMH - here.

Don't know much about Bill Shorten, but I'm impressed he stood up for Bracks.

-------------------------------------------

OTHER SOURCES

http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/us_pe_fund_bridge_growth_seeks_tech_zSRp3stk0aFpIIz7AJxNxM

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/former-victoria-premier-steve-bracks-gets-new-york-diplomatic-role/story-fn59nm2j-1226645536753

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-powerbroker-nick-minchin-appointed-consulgeneral-to-new-york-20140214-32ns5.html